Disposable urinal bag



. July 2, 1963 A. STANFORD 3,095,578

DISPOSABLE URINAL BAG Filed Dec. 27, 1961 FIG. I

INVENTOR:

GEORGE A. STANFORD miw ATT'YS United States Patent 3,095,578 DISPOSABLEURINAL BAG George A. Stanford, Jacksonville, Ill. V. A. Hospital,Knoxville, Iowa) Filed Dec. 27, 1961,'Ser. No. 162,398

Claims. (Cl. 4-110) This invention relates primarily to disposableurinal bags for use by immobilized male patients.

Hospitalized male patients, who are more or less confined to beds, oftenpresent a problem in the practical and sanitary collection and disposalof urine. For patients where it is extremely diflicult to use theconventional male urinal a more usable form of urinal is disclosed in myUnited States Patent No, 2,956,287 issued October 18, 1960.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved form ofreceptacle for the convenient and sanitary collection and ultimatedisposal of urine from male patients; to provide an improved form ofdisposable receptacle having an integral collar adapted for suspensionof the receptacle by the collar from a holder which is adjustable tosubstantially any convenient position for use by immobilized malepatients; to provide an im-.

proved collar-suspended disposable receptacle of this kind adapted for(facile separation from the supporting collar and quick sealing to"insure retention of the contents for transfer to the laboratory or to' adisposal station; and to provide an improved collar-suspended disposableurinal'receptacle' especially adapted for use with an adjustable ring"support of the type shown in the'aforesaid patent.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in theaccompanying'drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view of an improved collar-suspendeddisposable receptacle in the form of a flexible bag constructed inaccordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of thecollar-suspended bag showing the manner of its engagement with asuspending ring;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper end of the bag prior toattachment to the collar; and

FIG. 4 is a reduced-size upper-end view of the bag containing a quantityof fluid and sealed after removal from the supporting collar.

The primary concept of this invention is to provide a collapsible bagsuspended from an integral rigid, or semi-rigid, supporting collar fromwhich the bag is quickly separable without the use of instruments; whichbag is provided with self-contained means for sealing the open end topermit convenient transfer of the contents to a disposal station.

A disposable bag 5, embodying the foregoing concept, is suspended from acollar 6 and has incorporated therein a tear strip 7 for quick andconvenient severance of the bag 5 from the collar 6 to permit animmediate sealing of the open end of the detached bag 5 by means of aband 8 of a suitable pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to the innersurface of the bag adjacent the tear strip.

The bag 5, as here shown, is made from any suitable flexible plasticmaterial that is impervious to liquid.

Adjacently around its open end is a pair of parallel weakening lines 9and 10 which define the tear strip 7. These weakening lines may beperforations or scores formed in the plastic material in the process ofproducing the balloon-like bag 5. The tear strip 7 terminates in a shorttab 11 extending beyond a longitudinal seam of the bag for gripping bythe fingers to sever the tear strip 7 from the bag 5 when it is desiredto detach the bag 5 from the collar 6.

The collar 6 is a molded body made of plastic or a 2 heavy-grade papermaterial, having suflicient rigidity to serve as a support, and iscontoured to provide a neck 12 tapered axially inward from anoutwardly-curved perimetrical flange 13. The neck 12 of the collar 6 isembraced by the open end of the bag 5 and is permanently bonded theretoby a ring 14 of a suitable adhesive. 'I he arcuate-shaped flange 13 isso shaped to seat over a ring-type support S mounted on a suitablestandard such, for example, as shown in the aforesaid patent. Obviously,being designed for use with such a standard-supported ring, as thatshown in the aforesaid patent, the curved flange 13 is notched at 15 toseat over the radial extension on the ring whereby it is secured to asupporting standard.

The band 8 of pressure sensitive adhesive extends around the innersurface of the bag 5 adjacent its open end and a short distance below,i.e. inwardly from, the tear strip 7. Preferably, this adhesive band 8is made of that dry-sealing type of adhesive which is dry andnon-tacky'and which when dry will adhere only to itself, that is, undernormal conditions of use it will not adhere to anything else, and forthat reason the bag is normally free from the collar 6 at this point.Otherwise, the lower end of the collar 6 may be suitably coated toprevent adherence of the adhesive band 8 thereto. 7

As shown, the collar 6 extends below the adhesive band 8. This ispreferable since itwobviates the possibility of skin touch to theadhesive 8, avoids thepossibility of wetting the adhesive during use ofthe bag, and avoids the possibility of the adhesive contacting itselfwhen the bag is packaged. I Also because of the tapered collar, aquantity ofthese collar-supported bags 5, semi-collapsed as shown inFIG. 1, may be stacked in nested relation, one within another, in thehospital floor supply room ready for instant use as occasion mayrequire, and without any danger of the adhesive band 8 sticking to theoutside of the nested inner bag.

A disposable bag 5, constructed in accordance with this invention, isused in the following manner:v

The bag 5, integrally attached to its collar 6, is removed from a stack,or supply, of such units and dropped through the supporting ring S toseat the flange over the ring with the bag 5 hanging downwardly belowthe ring, as shown in FIG. 1. Being flexible, the bag will readilyaccommodate itself for any height of the supporting ring relative to thebed surface. After the intended use, the bag 5 is gripped by one hand ofan attendant directly below the tear strip 7 and then, with the fingersof the other hand, the attendant grips the tab 11 and with a circlingmovement around the bag 5, below the support ring S, rips off the tearstrip 7. With this other hand free of the tear strip 7, the attendantthen flattens and presses together the margins of the open end of thebag 5 and runs his fingers along the outside surface of the bag over theadhesive band 8 whereupon the bag 5, severed from the collar 6, becomessealed (see FIG. 4) for transfer either to the laboratory for testing ofthe bag contents or to a disposal station.

Although such collar-suspended container is here shown and described foruse for collecting urine from immobilized patients, it is quite apparentthat such a container may be used for many other purposes. It could beplaced at bed-side for collection of disposable tissues and/or bandages.It could be used in the kitchen for the collection of garbage; and inother places it could be used for the accumulation :of miscellaneoustrash. In any event, the bag is readily removable from the supportingcollar and is easily sealed against spillage of its contents.

The main advantages of this invention reside in the provision of aflexible, readily disposable, bag having a a stiff and integralsupporting collar which permits quick and easy mounting of the bag on asupporting ring by merely dropping the bag through the ring; in the factthat the bag, when containing a quantity :of fluid, can be removed fromthe supporting ring without pulling the bag through the ring; in thearrangement whereby the bag can be readily sealed 'by self-containedmeans against spillage or contamination of its contents; in the improvedconstruction of the bag whereby it is readily detachable from the collarwithout removing the collar from the supporting ring; and in theconstruction which permits the bags to be packaged in nested stackedarrangement for convenience in shipping, handling, and storage.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been hereinshown and described it will be understood that details of the structureshown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of theinvention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A container for the collection of disposable matter comprising,

(a) a tubular supporting collar having an outwardly projecting flange,

(b) a bag having its open end embrasing and peripherally adhered to thecollar,

(c) a tear strip integrated with the bag below the adlierence to thecollar and severable from the bag to release the bag from the collar,and

(d) a band of pressure-sensitive adhesive disposed in teriorly aroundthe bag :below the tear strip to reseal the open end :of the bagremaining after release of the bag from the collar.

2. A container for the collection of disposable matter as defined inclaim 1 wherein the collar is of a molded material and the bag is of adisposable plastic material.

3. A container for the collection of disposable matter as defined inclaim 1, wherein the bag is embracively 4 mounted on the collar and thecollar extends into the bag beyond the band of pressure-sensitiveadhesive.

4. A container according to claim 1 wherein the bag is embracivelymounted on the collar and the collar is inwardly tapered below theflange to extend into the bag beyond the band of pressure-sensitiveadhesive.

5. A container for the collection of disposable matter comprising,

(a) a molded supporting collar tapered axially inward toward one end andhaving an outwardly-extending flange at the opposite end for suspensionof the collar from a ring-shaped support,

(b) a disposable bag of plastic material having its open end embracivelyadhered to the collar below said flange and telescopingly receiving saidcollar,

(0) a tear strip integrated with the bag by parallel circumferentiallines of weakening below the adherence of the bag to the collar andterminating in a peripherally-exposed finger-grip tab, and

(d) a band of pressure-sensitive adhesive of the drysealinlg type thatadheres only to itself disposed interiorly around the bag below the tearstrip for rescaling the open end of the bag after release of the bagfrom the collar,

(e) said collar extending into said bag beyond said band ofpressure-sensitive adhesive.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,067,958 Wallace Jan. 19, 1937 2,074,949 Swift Mar. 23, 1937 2,250,652Price July 29, 1941 2,669,406 Campbell Feb. 16, 1954 2,815,150 HerzigDec. 3, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,063,798 France Dec. 16, 1953

1. A CONTAINER FOR THE COLLECTION OF DISPOSABLE MATTER COMPRISING, (A) ATUBULAR SUPPORTING COLLAR HAVING AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING FLANGE, (B) ABAG HAVING ITS OPEN END EMBRASING AND PERIPHERALLY ADHERED TO THECOLLAR, (C) A TEAR STRIP INTEGRATED WITH THE BAG BELOW THE ADHERENCE TOTHE COLLAR AND SEVERABLE FROM THE BAG TO RELEASE THE BAG FROM THECOLLAR, AND (D) A BAND OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVE DISPOSEDINTERIORLY AROUND THE BAG BELOW THE TEAR STRIP TO RESEAL THE OPEN END OFTHE BAG REMAINING AFTER RELEASE OF THE BAG FROM THE COLLAR.